Sophomore streaks into match with top-five foe

Sophomore 184-pounder Dan?Seidenberg wrestles Brown’s Ophir
Bernstein in a Jan. 6 dual meet.?Seidenberg lost a 2-1 decision but
won each of his seven matches since.

Dan Seidenberg says it took him some time to readjust to
wrestling every weekend. Workout partner Scott Winston believes it
took Seidenberg some time to figure out what works at the college
level.

Rutgers head wrestling coach Scott Goodale has another
theory.

“Honestly, I think he probably got tired of getting beat on a
little bit,” Goodale said. “Last year he got beat on a little bit,
early this year he got beat on a little bit. Now he’s the man [at
184 pounds] so there’s expectations of being in the lineup, so he
has to step up his game a little bit.”

Seidenberg has in recent weeks.

He redshirted last season, meaning the beatings Goodale says he
took came in the practice room with partners Winston, Mario Mason
and Dan Rinaldi, each of whom spent significant time as ranked
wrestlers.

Then Seidenberg took over as the Scarlet Knights’ 184-pounder to
start the season. He won his first two matches, then lost five in a
row.

The final loss came in a dual meet against Old Dominion’s Billy
Curling.

“He wasn’t competitive,” Goodale said of the match. “He couldn’t
get off the bottom, couldn’t breathe out there.”

Seidenberg faced Curling again last weekend at the Virginia
Duals.

“He totally dominated in every position,” Goodale said.

The redshirt sophomore turned a 5-1 loss Dec. 3 into a 5-1 decision
that is part of a six-match winning streak. Curling’s point was the
only one scored against Seidenberg in Virginia, where he won four
matches by a combined score of 22-1.

“Lately I’ve been going out there and forgetting about winning and
losing, just scoring points,” Seidenberg said. “The wins have been
falling into place.”

He will need that mentality Friday at Lehigh, where he will face
last year’s runner-up at 184 pounds in the NCAA Tournament, Robert
Hamlin.

Hamlin started this season as the top-ranked wrestler in the weight
class, but sits at No. 4 now after dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 3
Steve Bosak of Cornell.

“We’re a little undermanned, but you can’t think that way,” Goodale
said of Rutgers’ matches at 184 pounds and heavyweight. “I’ve seen
crazier things happen, you just have to give yourself an
opportunity. That’s the focus with those guys: Give themselves an
opportunity, keep themselves in the match and you never
know.”

Seidenberg shares the sentiment, saying he will take the mat at
Stabler Arena embracing the experience and unconcerned about the
result.

That is the same mindset he took into each of his past few matches,
though.

“[Goodale] doesn’t want us going out there to win or lose, he just
wants us constantly going, never letting up at any point of the
match,” Seidenberg said. “If you’re constantly on top, constantly
pushing the pace, you have nothing to worry about.”

Seidenberg’s best wrestling of late has been on top.

Goodale believes it is Seidenberg’s best position and told him to
stress it, refusing to allow any opponents to escape. None did in
Virginia, where Goodale says Seidenberg also turned every opponent
onto their back, picking up near-fall points.

“He’s wrestling really good,” Goodale said. “He’ll probably have
the nothing-to-lose mentality, which can be good. He can wrestle
free with no anxiety, no pressure, just wrestle hard. That can be
dangerous. But he can’t go out there in survival mode. He has to
take it to him and wrestle the way he’s been wrestling.”